I think there is something like that happening. There are so many apartments and commercial buildings that have opened and are under construction. People claim there is not a housing bubble this time because the recent trend is not driven by risky mortgages and instead by cash buyers. But I think there is a lot of speculation or 'investment' going on by funds and people who are buying buildings and wishing to sell for a profit. There are some units that are vacant, and occupied at lower densities.

Sad really. They're an invasive species that has doubled in population in recent years and is endangering a lot native plants. I love horses, but I wish the feds, and local states had better management of them.

no doubt, with health insurance, I am still hesitant to go to a hospital for a minor issue in case they decide to run expensive tests and come up with some diagnosis which could amount to a preexisting condition

There are plenty of older people in trouble too, for the same reasons. Some people stereotype millennials as the nouveau riche because some job categories such as computer programmer and expensive cities such as San Francisco are filled with wealthy people in their 20s and 30s

Of note is the fact that Mark Callahan, who just won the republican primary for Oregon's 5th congressional district, was at the gun rally in downtown Seattle (can't tell but it doesn't seem like he joined them later at the university.

It doesn't really matter, he won't win the general. It's like that literal-Nazi who won the Republican primary in a heavily-Democratic district in Illinois.

His two opponents were a guy who barely campaigned (no statement in the voter's guide,) and a guy who is even MOREextreme.

Again, zero chance of unseating Schrader. (Which is funny, because Schrader is one of the weaker incumbent Democrats - Republicans COULD take that district back if they put forward a serious candidate.

Yes - one of his opponents, Joey Nations, also attended Joey Gibson rallies and had a lot of online postings in objectionable far-right websites. One of the guys standing next to him here is Jacob Van Ott, a local leader in Identity Europa. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3VPqRbHPfU

It is strange that two of the republican candidates for this 5th district race came out of this marginal group. Callahan showed up at multiple of these, including an "it's okay to be white" rally on an overpass in Vancouver before the commenter below asks if it is not okay to be white, it was a cynical and tactically chosen name which was designed to make it sound like they are the victims - there were many known neo-nazis at the event, wearing swastikas and similar symbols, and Mark Callahan decided to show up at this event because it represents his values well:

I agree with you. I hiked it maybe 15 years ago. I would much rather drive a bit farther and deal with fewer people. You like views? Have you hiked Silver Star Mountain? IMO, hands-down the best view ever.

The Columbia river is regulated substantially by flood control dams in Canada, and Grand Coulee, Hungry Horse reservoirs. But there is a big meltoff in Canada now. You can look at the flow levels vs. average levels here: Look at Bonneville dam flow levels http://www.cbr.washington.edu/dart/quick_look/river

They probably have that somewhere. I remember years ago they were hiring people to walk around and take inventory of the cities trees. This was before they implemented all the really strict tree cutting laws. I think this is so they can catch people who cut down their trees without a permit.

Joey Gibson is one of two marginal republican candidates against Maria Cantwell for US Senate in Washington. There are no normalish republicans so there is a risk of one of these two getting party votes by default. Joey Gibson has held these violent alt-right rallies in Portland, Berkeley, Seattle where every time, a couple dozen neonazis show up.
https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/nazis-deny-white-supremacism-joey-gibson-blind/

There are only two strange republicans running for Senate against Maria Cantwell in Washington. One is obnoxious Joey Gibson. The other is this man - in his videos, he explains why he wants a $20 min wage, as he explains his really tough $11/hr job at Home Depot. He wants free college too. But he is clearly unsophisticated and opposes immigration and has not figured out what is causing inequality.
http://heines4senate.com/12-item-agenda.html

oh, Portland's community garden program holds a lot of trainings at their gardens around town. (I don't know about visually impaired per se, but they have lots of plots with 2.5ft raised beds for physically disabled people who can't bend down). I would start there by calling them and asking for a class at a garden that is Trimet accessible. There are plots still available - with the smallest 10x12 squares for like $26/year. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/39846

FYI - an even more unsettling situation is the fact that Joey Gibson (another joey?) is the only republican candidate for US senate against Maria Cantwell (WA). He is not even a good public speaker, but seems to have run across a winning strategy with these free speech rallies that regularly have dozens of self-identified neonazi participants.. He organized the rally filmed above, and was even on 60 minutes

For example at 1:40 in the video above, you can see this Jacob or Jake Von Ott guy right in front of him. Jake Von Ott is a leader for Identity Evrope in Oregon https://rosecityantifa.org/articles/jvo2/ (This site is careful about their documentation for who they dox).

women definitely have a harder time being 'fake blue collar' such as George W Bush clearing brush In a plaid shirt and speaking in simple language, or Reagan riding horses on his ranch, even though GWB is very upper class, Reagan was an actor etc. Bill and Hillary Clinton were both from average or poor families in Arkansas, and Hillary especially is cast as a upper class, 'latte drinking', arrogant, and dressing or speaking like a working class woman would not work for her because that would not attract votes in the same way as the male version.